Crashing Funeral Bells and Goodbye
by swiftykenobi
Summary: ObiWan attends Padme's funeral and it brings back all of the terrible memories. He then sets out to live his solitary life on Tatooine. COMPLETED.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing in Star Wars, for it all belongs to the incredible Mr. George Lucas.

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"_I made this for you...I carved it from a piece of japor snippet. It will bring you good fortune."_

The crowd lining the streets in the capital city of Naboo was vast and silent as the funeral procession slowly made its way down the street. The grief of the people was palpable as they watched, some with tears streaming down their faces, as the open casket holding the body of the former queen who had been so loved, so revered, so radiant-was slowly marched past them.

The group of people behind the casket was a group of distinguished senators, dignitaries, and the family of the beloved queen. So many had come to mourn the death of such a venerated and astute woman. But few knew of the tragedy behind her death. Only one in the crowd knew of her secret life, and the secrets that she had given birth to.

And her cold and lifeless hands clutched a necklace, the japor snippet given to her by the young boy who had captured her heart. The pendant that represented the man that she fell in love with, and the man whose children she had given life to. This small piece of japor represented everything that she had loved in her life, and everything that she had lost.

This was the funeral of Padme Amidala. This was the death of a woman admired and revered by so many. This was the woman whose whole being had been crushed into oblivion on a Hellish planet, where two friends had battled, one with rage and the other with sorrow, and where one of them had fallen into the eternal suffering of the dark side of the Force. On that fiery planet, the passion between two lovers had died out, and two brothers' friendship fell to the betrayal of one.

The sorrow in the air hung heavy with more than the death of this woman, but with the death of all that she had fought her whole life to protect. The crowd lining the streets of Theed cried out in sorrow for the death of their former queen and senator, and they cried for the end of the Jedi, the order whose members had saved their planet from invasion so many years ago. But most of all, they cried at the death of democracy, the death of a Republic that had held all of their hopes and dreams.

Padme Amidala had spent her life committed to that Republic, and while the battles had raged overhead in the galaxy, another battle had been fought within her heart, one much deeper and more personal than any politics. She had loved, and she had been loved.

Silently, discreetly, a new figure joined the queue following behind the casket where she lay. This figure wore a humble brown robe made of modest material that flowed to the ground. The silent figure had raised the hood to conceal his identity, but a neatly trimmed beard flecked with gray was still visible, and so was the frown etched with a profound sadness that lay beneath it.

This one lone person, an insignificant number in a galaxy of trillions, was the only person in the vast crowd who had known. He was the sole human being who had seen the destruction up close, who had been with Padme when she had died. He was the only one of three who knew of the twins.

Underneath the flowing brown cloak that the figure wore, were tunics scorched and burned. Clipped to his belt were two lightsabers; one, his own, used for honor and peace. The other once belonging to a man who had been fiercely loyal and kind, a powerful Jedi, a best friend, brother, husband, and father.

This solitary figure, the lone individual who had witnessed all of the pain, was a once well-known Jedi Master, General in the Clone Wars, and Galactic Hero.

He walked wordlessly with the crowd. He felt the weight of the two lightsabers underneath his long robe. Trying not to think of the planet of fire, trying not to think of the pain and the betrayal, trying not to think of the two children who had been given birth by this woman, he continued to walk in silence. He knew it was a danger to be here, the Jedi had become overnight the sole enemies of the new Galactic Empire.

In only a matter of time, he would be delivering the baby boy to Tatooine, to the planet where his father had once been enslaved-to the planet where everything had begun. It was the Jedi Master's only request that he attend this funeral. The funeral of the woman that Anakin had loved, the funeral of the woman who had mothered the children who were now the only hope.

Every step that he walked hurt his heart. Every breath that he took was filled with the air of tragedy. His body was numb. Though he could not feel the burns from the lightsabers and the flying fire of the blazing planet, he knew that they were there.

The clanging bells of mourning crashed and resonated throughout the street, giving voice to the grieving crowd. The war that had begun over a decade before on Naboo had become a stark reality with the death of Padme Amidala.

The procession ended at the cemetery, one by one, her closest friends and family stepped to her and said their final goodbye. The Jedi Master found himself standing over her. The wife of Anakin-the wife of the unruly Padawan who had somehow managed to work his way deep into his heart. The wife of the man who had been a brother and a best friend.

Standing over her, he made a silent promise to Padme that he would protect her child. He had no more tears left to cry, all that was there was a burning in his eyes as he gazed over her lifeless body. "There is no death; there is the Force," he whispered. With a wave of his hand, he summoned the chain with the japor snippet into his hand.

Looking back only once, he watched the casket lowered into the ground, and the Jedi slowly turned away, and he disappeared into the darkness.

A short time later, the Jedi Master arrived on the desert planet with two suns. The very planet where Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn had once found the young Anakin Skywalker, all those years ago.

Upon his mount, the Jedi delivered a small infant, wrapped snuggly in blankets, to the home of Owen and Beru Lars. Gazing out at the blazing suns, the young couple cradled their nephew while he watched with a pang of unfathomable grief in his heart.

The wise, compassionate, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi held the japor snippet of Padme Amidala in one hand, and the lightsaber of Anakin Skywalker in the other. He closed his hands tightly around each, and he set off into the light of the rising suns.

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A/N Ok, so, I hope that this was good. I'm not sure if I will make another chapter, but I still might. Anyway, thanks for reading!

Quick Update: I did end up writing another chapter, hope you like it!


	2. Chapter 2

"_I HATE YOU!"_

"_You were my brother Anakin, I loved you."_

The twin suns of Tatooine were rising and the day was beginning. By noon, the planet and its residents would be engulfed in the scorching heat of the two suns.

Twenty years had passed since the Old Republic had been declared a Galactic Empire, but few on Tatooine even cared. On this planet, surviving came before any kind of politics. Few on this scorching planet even remembered the days before the new Empire.

It seemed that there were none on this planet who remembered the legacy of the Jedi Knights; but there was no truth in that. As the suns rose, and the day began, a small family of moisture farmers far from the outskirts of Mas Eisley had already been up for hours, going about their duties.

Farther out still, in the canyons of the Jundland Wastes, a wise old Jedi Master awoke with a start, feeling feverish. He hung his head in his hands, knowing that it was only a nightmare, but it still felt so real. And then he remembered that it was real. The feverish burning that he felt on his skin was the same as the scorching fire on the planet of Hell, where everything he had once known had come to a crashing halt.

Sighing, the Jedi heaved himself out of bed. After performing his usual stretching, he stepped outside. Far off in the distance, he could see the vast landscape of the Tatooine desert in the distance, and if he looked hard enough, he could see the modest farm of the Lars family. Taking a deep breath the Jedi Master walked back inside of his humble home.

There were subtle changes in the Force, he could feel them, and he knew that it would soon be time.

But he was not sure that he was ready. It was all so long ago. He had watched over the boy since he had delivered him here twenty years ago, but the Jedi Master had not changed much himself. His hair was a little more gray, and perhaps he didn't move as quickly as he used to, but he was still who he had always been.

Sitting quietly underneath stacks of papers and clothes, lay a box. A simple, crudely carved box, but the outside did not matter. The contents that the box held were the darkest memories of the Jedi Master's life.

As he cleared off the pile that he had tried to place on top of the box to hide it from his view, he could not help sinking back into old memories. The nightmare haunted him, and over and over he had to remind himself that it was not a nightmare.

He could feel the changes in the Force. As much as he never wanted to look inside this box again, he could almost hear the Force telling him that he must. Breathing heavily and trying to suppress a rising sense of nausea, he lifted the lid.

All too soon, he was brought back into the memories. His head swam as he remembered the funeral; the clanging bells still seemed to resonate inside of his head.

He first lifted out a rock. It was smooth and warm with beautiful red stripes. As soon as he held it, it felt as though his stomach had settled a little. It was Qui-Gon's rock, the one that he had been given on his thirteenth birthday. As he held the rock in his hands, he felt its warmth with the Force, and the pain in his heart eased a little bit.

He then reached into the box and pulled out the lightsabers. Tears came to his eyes as he held one in each hand, and his heart wrenched at the memory of what had happened the last time that they had both been used, the time that they had been used against each other.

They were so similar. It was tradition for an apprentice to base his lightsaber's design off of his Master's, and Anakin Skywalker had been no exception. The Jedi Master was having trouble breathing. All that he could think of was the end that it had come to, of all that had been said and done that night. That night of eternal fire.

Left in the box were some old papers, news articles, keepsakes of the Jedi's years as a Padawan. Leafing through these, the Jedi found something that made his heart feel as though it could not take anymore. It was a picture, a small picture that he had completely forgot about, but it was a picture that nevertheless made him feel dizzy.

He was no more than twenty-five in the picture. It was the Peace Celebration on Naboo after the trade blockade. He was standing next to a ten-year-old Anakin Skywalker. They were smiling, but the death of Qui-Gon Jinn was still fresh in both of their faces.

The Jedi buried his face in his hands, and for the first time in twenty years, he cried. It had finally become too much. His failure with Anakin had slowly been eating away at him for all of these years, but now, looking at this picture, it was even more obvious. This young boy, so kind and pure, had surrendered himself to the dark side.

The Celebration of Peace had ended thirteen years later with the funeral of Padme Amidala. The echoes of the bells of mourning inside of his heart were causing the Jedi Master to become overloaded. It was all coming so fast. All of the memories that he had been trying all of these years to bury were surfacing, and he couldn't take it.

He stumbled back to the box. He had to finish this. There was only one item left, and when the Jedi picked it up, he felt himself fall onto the floor. Holding the japor snippet in his hands, he couldn't take it anymore, and everything went black.

When he finally awoke, he knew that he could not go on like this for any longer. His mind was clearer than it had been in twenty years. In the coming days, he meditated and thought. He slowly opened himself up to the old memories that were so deeply buried inside of him.

It was painful, but the Jedi Master accepted the pain and let it flow out of him, as he had so long ago been taught to do. He felt closer to the Force than he had ever felt before, and the Force gave him light and direction.

Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber would become Luke's. Padme Amidala's japor pendant would become Leia's. They had been a family, and these precious entities would remain in their family. The Jedi Master had had them too long. It was time to let go.

He packed his things, not knowing where he was going, but always trusting the Force to get him there safely. As he began the long trek to the home of Owen and Beru Lars, he reflected even more on the memories. The pain was slowly easing with each step that he took.

He worked first through the bad times; the betrayal, the death of the Jedi, the fight between him and his former Padawan.

As he accepted and forgave the dark times, he began to remember the little things. He remembered his times with Qui-Gon, their missions and adventures to faraway lands. He remembered forming a bond with his own Padawan.

All of these things he slowly began to remember. And as he thought more and more, he thought of the smile that Anakin Skywalker had often brought to his face. He remembered how serious he himself had always been as a Padawan, and he realized that it had been Anakin who had brought the light of laughter into his life.

Though his heart still ached, the Jedi knew, he _felt_ in the Force, that there was a light in the future. Though the galaxy was shrouded in darkness, there would always be laughter and love to hold it back. The twin suns of Tatooine beat down heat and light onto this planet, and the Jedi reflected that the twins of Anakin and Padme would one day provide light for a galaxy that had been so long covered by the darkness.

As he arrived on the doorstep of the Lars family, the Jedi Master held tightly to Anakin's lightsaber in one hand, and in the other, Padme Amidala's japor snippet, carved for her by a young boy on a strange desert planet so long ago. And he remembered the light in his Padawan's eyes, the lessons and laughter that they had shared.

The wise, compassionate Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi set off, once again, into the light of the twin suns, as he had done so long ago, and he decided that perhaps, even in the midst of the darkness, as he began a new journey far away from Tatooine, that he truly had been brought good fortune.

The End


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